Bursa Malaysia ends mixed, FBM KLCI down 2.13 points

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended mixed yesterday with the key index easing slightly on selling in selected heavyweights, mainly in banking stocks, while the broader market showed a positive tone.

At 5 pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 2.13 points easier at 1,596.79 compared with Monday’s close of 1,598.92.

The barometer index opened 2.74 points better at 1,601.66, and moved between 1,594.41 and 1,601.68 throughout the session.

However, on the broader market, gainers thumped losers 653 to 308, while 416 counters were unchanged, 860 untraded, and 10 others suspended.

Total turnover increased to 3.87 billion units worth RM2.37 billion from 3.38 billion units worth RM2.06 billion on Monday.

A dealer noted that Bursa Malaysia opened higher but retreated after a few minutes of trading, succumbing to selling pressure in selected heavyweights and moved in a range-bound mode throughout the session.

“The FBM KLCI pulled back to below the 1,600-level on profittaking in banking, healthcare, consumer, and telecommunication stocks, while the lower liners were seen extending their lead,” he said.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vicepresident of equity research Thong Pak Leng told Bernama the market bellwether has been moving in a tight consolidation mode since the middle of March as investors remained cautious due to heightened regional volatility.

“However, we reckon the index is well supported above the 1,580 level while investors sentiment remains cautious. Hence, we expect the FBM KLCI to move in range-bound and hover within the 1,590 to 1,610 range for the remaining week,” he added.

Meanwhile, he also noted that investors are now looking to Wednesday’s release of minutes from the US Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting for clues on the interest rate hike, which the US central bank was widely expected to raise its interest rate by half a percentage point next month.

Regionally, Thong said key indices were mostly higher, tracking the overnight gains on Wall Street.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 2.10 per cent to 22,502.31, Japan’s Nikkei 225 edged up 0.19 per cent to 27,787.98, Singapore’s Straits Times Index rose 0.82 per cent to 3,445.01 and South Korea’s Kospi inched up 0.05 per cent to 2,759.20.

On the local front, among heavyweights Maybank fell 10 sen to RM8.86, Public Bank eased two sen to RM4.70 while IHH Healthcare and CIMB shed three sen each to RM6.25 and RM5.27, respectively.

Petronas Chemicals rose 15 sen to RM9.85.

Of the actives, KNM Group, TWL Holdings and Techna-X edged up half-a-sen each to 19 sen, 8.5 sen and 8.5 sen, respectively, Dagang NeXchange rose eight sen to RM1.11, while Metronic eased halfa-sen at 1.5 sen.